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Wednesday
Junior Zack Fre iter is healthy and ready to step
into a starting role on the defensive line. PAGE 7
An independent newspaper
Ready to shine
New ground
A University groundbreaking ceremony celebrated
the construction of new apartments. PAGE 4
November 1,2000
Volume 102, Issue46
Weather
TODAY
high 55, low 41
Since 1 900 University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon
Natural gas and fuel prices to remain high
Conservation methods to decrease your bill
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4. ResourceHTfKc
second-largest e
heaters. Make si
3. Sto
wind'
Also
1. Furnace ducts: As much as 25 percent of heat can be lost as a
result of leaks in the duct. By having the ducts sealed, you
can increase the efficiency of your furnace.
2. Lower Temperature: Turn down the heat
.at night or when you leave the house,
setting the temperature 10 degrees
'k. ' usage, you can
ting bill fhft££tO percent a month,
nsive plastic
inclows and that insulate well.
Windows to eliminate drafts.
s: The largest or
houses are water
rature is set to 120
degrees or lower.
The
construction
of a new
natural gas
pipeline
means
higher costs
for
consumers
By Rebecca Newell
Oregon Daily Emerald
Energy costs go up during the winter
months, but next spring, the prices
won’t go down as the weather warms.
Natural gas and electric utility com
panies hiked rates by approximately
20 percent on Oct. 1 due to a dramatic
rise in the cost of the resources. This
increase will affect Oregon and Wash
ington but only minimally impact
many Eugene residents.
The main cause of the price increase
stems from the construction of a new
natural gas pipeline carrying the re
source from Canada to the Midwest.
The Pacific Northwest, which receives
most of its natural gas from Canada,
was suddenly faced with competition
for the gas, resulting in the significant
increase in wholesale prices to the util
ity companies and new power plants,
most of which run off gas.
Lisa Schwartz, a policy analyst for
the Conservation Resource division of
the Oregon Office of Energy, said the
sudden high demand has caused gas
companies to redouble their explo
ration efforts for new sources of
Turn to Fuel cost, page 5
■ Decreased oil supply
and high oil prices are
partly responsible for
high gas prices
By Lindsay Buchele
Oregon Daily Emerald
Oregon’s gas prices have
finally leveled off.
However, the $1.79 Ore
gonians are currently paying
for a gallon of regular gas is
still 23 cents above the na
tional average, something
that’s not likely to change,
according to Department of
Energy economist Jacob
Bournazian.
“The only thing to bring
down prices [of gas] is to
lower the price of crude oil,”
he said.
National crude oil prices
skyrocketed in 1999 and
have stayed up through the
year to date. The high prices
are largely due to the de
mand for oil exceeding the
supply being put out by oil
companies, Bournazian
said.
“In 1997 and 1998, we
had a huge glut of crude
oil,” he said.
Then, the Organization of
the Petroleum Exporting
Countries cut back produc
tion. Instead of producing
the 65.5 million gallons a
day that were in demand, oil
companies were only pro
ducing 64 million gallons
per day, Bournazian said.
A steady decrease in sup
ply from OPEC pushed
prices up and caused stock
prices to decline.
Bournazian said the
breakdown of taxes and
costs shows how prices be
came so high in Oregon:
• West Texas Intermedi
ate, one of the nation’s lead
ing providers of crude oil, is
currently charging $32.73
per barrel of gas.
• There are approximate
ly 42 gallons in a barrel,
which makes the price 81
cents per gallon.
• The federal gas tax is 18
cents per gallon, and the
Oregon gas tax is 24 cents
per gallon.
• It costs about 45 cents
per gallon to process crude
oil, and Oregon transports
and stores the gas for about
5 cents a gallon.
• After adding all the
costs, a gallon of gas costs
about $1.73 per gallon, and
then gas stations add their
costs to the final pump
price.
“If gas stations were
charging anything less than
$1.79, they would be losing
a lot of money,” Bournazian
said.
Prices are high for the en
tire country, but Oregon
prices are even higher be
Tu rn to Gas prices, page 5
ii The
only thing
to bring
down
prices [of
gas] is to
lower the
price of
crude oil.
Jacob
Bournazian
economist
Depart
ment of
Energy
OSPIRG warns against genetically engineered edibles
OSPIRG held a
rally to inform
consumers of
the dangers of
“ Frankenstein
foods"
By Eric Martin
For the Emerald
Warning that some genetically
engineered foods may pose a
health hazard and are not safety
tested, organic food experts and
OSPIRG activists held a rally at
10 a.m. Tuesday in front of John
son Hall..
The experts said many geneti
cally engineered foods are not
identified as such in supermar
kets or on packaging, which dis
regards the consumer’s right to
know. It also puts unsuspecting
consumers at risk for increased
allergic reactions and possibly
cancer, they said.
To promote the event, OS
PIRG representatives strolled
the sidewalks in front of John
son Hall in homemade cos
tumes that depicted the result of
splicing vegetable genes with
other food genes. One student
wore a silver fish with the body
of a tomato.
They encouraged students to
attend the rally, which at its
peak drew about 10 spectators.
One of Tuesday’s speakers
was from the Genetically Engi
neered Foods Alert Campaign,
which is calling for a moratori
um on genetically engineered
foods until long-term safety test
ing is complete, GE foods are la
beled and the biotechnical cor
porations manufacturing these
foods agree to be liable for dam
ages.
“The long-term effect of these
foods are not known,” said
Rachel Spencer, a project coor
dinator for the Genetically Engi
neered Foods Alert Campaign.
“The [Food and Drug Adminis
tration] is no longer formally
safety testing these ‘Franken
stein foods.’”
Spencer cited the recent FDA
recall of Starlink corn products,
which contained a bacterial
pesticide and were not ap
proved for human consump
tion, as an example of the dan
ger GE foods present.
The pesticide, known as
Bacillus thurengiensis, or Bt, is
used to deter pests from infest
ing crops, she said. Once con
sumed, the pesticide basically
disintegrates the bellies of these
insects.
The corn products containing
Bt included certain taco shells
and other corn-based products,
and were found on shelves at
Safeway, Mission Foods, Food
line and other stores before be
ing recalled, Spencer said.
People consuming these prod
ucts may face long-term effects.
Corporations that make the
foods use “marker genes” to de
termine if the insertion of genet
ic material into a plant’s DNA is
successful, said J.J. Haapala, a
speaker and director of resource
education for the Oregon Tilth.
Turn to Genetic rally, page 3
Eric Martin for the Emerald
University student Rod Yoder urges students to attend an OSPIRG rally.